How to Overcome Resistance to Change

CLARITY IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT WILL JUMPSTART YOUR TRANSFORMATION

According to several change management studies, the failure rate for change projects rests somewhere between 60% and 70%. For example:  McKinsey & Company have consistently found that only one in three transformation projects succeed in their goals  IBM’s 2008 Global CEO Study found that around 60% of change projects fail  The Harvard Business Review in 2000 reported that 70% of change initiatives fail. These studies clearly show that, despite hundreds of studies on the subject, there has been little to no improvement in change project success rates since John Kotter published his book Leading Change in 1996. In this chapter, we will examine the need for clarity when undertaking transformational change initiatives, and pose six questions your organization should answer to provide that clarity. Why do change projects fail? As we’ve seen, there is no single reason why so many change projects fail to produce the benefits intended. There’s also no set blueprint that can be followed for every change initiative. Different organizations work to different policies, procedures, and processes. They have different cultures, different management hierarchies, and different customer and supplier bases. However,

there are some common themes that run through change failures. These include:  Resistance to change  Poor leadership (think Jack Welch at GE vs. Ron Johnson at J. C. Penney)  Isolated change  Lack of an integrated strategy  The organization had not been prepared for change  Lack of sponsorship and support  Lack of employee engagement When searching for a common thread that may weave all these reasons for failure together, clarity in change management is highlighted by the number of reasons that have communication at their core. For example: In 6 Reasons Why Change Programs Fail, half the reasons cited are communication-based (communication, unclear objectives, and lack of performance measures).

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